The invention relates to means for connecting and disconnecting valves to and from pipe lines, and, more particularly, to structural means for such connecting and disconnecting of pipe line valves to and from water carrying pipe lines embedded underground.
Pipe lines which carry water to residential and commercial buildings incorporate valves which are used to control the water flow into each particular building. These valves which are referred to as corporation stops typically interconnect the water line going directly into the building with the water pipe line coming from the water main line. The interconnected pipe lines are typically one inch or three-quarters of an inch in diameter. Corporation stop valves and pipe lines are typically buried approximately one and one-half feet below ground surface which renders them relatively invulnerable to damage due to pedestrian and other types of traffic. However, their underground location requires persons attempting to repair or replace the valve or adjacent lines to dig a trench to provide access to the valve and pipe lines. The depth of the trench makes it difficult to attach a pipe wrench to opposing flat faces of the valve and rotate the valve ninety degrees to provide wrench access to the other opposing flat faces of the valve due to the necessary narrowness of the trench blocking large rotational movements of the wrench. This difficulty is exacerbated by corrosion of the threads of the valve and pipe due to being in a relatively moist underground environment for long periods. Use of wrenches with jaws that can provide clamping force on the valve is not practical because of the high likelihood of damage to the valve threads and body if such wrenches are placed on the valve at other than the flat faces thereof. In addition, the use of tapered pipe threads at the main line end of the valve requires the application of high torque to rotate the valve and thereby connect the valve to and disconnect the valve from the pipe line. The requirement of high torque makes the use of jaw type clamping wrenches impractical if used on other than the flat faces of the valve because such wrenches cannot maintain their grip on the valve under such high torque. Also, the application of high torque is very difficult in the cramped area of the very narrow trench when using an ordinary pipe wrench or adjustable wrench. Consequently, the task of repairing or replacing the valve and/or adjacent pipes is very time consuming and can result in extensive damage to the valve and the pipes. In addition, these difficulties can result in poor connections at the valve producing leaks and shortening the service life of the valve and pipes.
Many prior art wrenches and wrench fittings have been designed especially for plumbing and other pipe line fittings and attachments. An example of such a wrench designed especially for a plumbing valve is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,016,783 to Spector. The Spector wrench is specifically designed to eliminate the necessity of attaching an ordinary wrench directly to the plumbing valve and thereby eliminate the unsightly teeth marks and wear marks produced by attachment of such ordinary wrenches. The Spector wrench has a housing which partly encloses the valve and has an opening at one end thereof which fits around part of the pipe end of the valve for secure positioning thereon. The wrench housing is held in position on the valve by means of a stabilizer bolt attaching it directly to the valve. A wrench drive hole is provided at another end of the housing for receiving a wrench drive therein thereby enabling a ratchet wrench or the like to be used to rotate the housing and thereby the valve. The Spector wrench is a marked improvement over the use of conventional jaw type wrenches. However, a major disadvantage of the Spector wrench is that it is specially designed for angle valves, tees and elbows and thus cannot be used for corporation stops as well as many other types of pipe valves and fittings. In addition, the Spector wrench requires the use of a bolt to attach the housing to the angle valve and thus limits such wrenches to use on structures which are produced with such bolt holes or which may be provided with such bolt holes. Moreover, attachment of such a bolt may be time consuming and may be impractical due to the necessity of working in cramped quarters or inaccessibility of the bolt hole area.
Other prior art tools have been designed to facilitate the operation of plumbing fixtures. An example of such a tool is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,721 to Kowats. The Kowats patent discloses a socket type of tool having an oval shaped recess which is dimensioned to fit on and around a faucet handle to securely grip the faucet thereby. The Kowats socket has a drive hole and an hexagonal head at an end thereof to enable engagement thereof by a suitable wrench. The Kowats socket thus enables improved leverage to be applied to the faucet handle and thereby facilitates operation thereof. A desirable feature of the Kowats socket is that it may be easily manually placed on and removed from the faucet handle. However, a primary disadvantage of such a socket design is that it does not have a means for securing the socket in the desired position on the handle to preclude cocking thereof. In addition, this design cannot be used on plumbing structures other than faucet handles of a particular shape and size.
A tool is thus needed that can be fitted onto a corporation stop type valve and facilitate rotation thereof. Such a tool is needed that is adapted for engagement by a ratchet wrench so that it can allow rotation of the valve thereby in a narrow and confined area of a ground trench which are typically used since they are the most pragmatic means for providing access to the valve and pipe lines. Such a socket is also needed that can positively and securely engage the valve by simply manually fitting it thereon without the necessity of special tools.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a tool which allows the application of high torque thereby in a narrowly confined area in connecting and disconnecting a pipe valve to and from pipe lines.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a tool which can be manually fitted onto a pipe valve for connection and disconnection thereof.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a tool which can be manually removed from a pipe valve after use for connection and disconnection of the valve.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a tool which securely and firmly fits onto the valve.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a tool which is shaped and sized to snugly fit against and around a pipe valve for positive engagement thereof so that the tool can provide more effective rotation of the valve.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a tool which has openings at lateral portions thereof so that it can accomodate valve structures protruding from the main body of the valve.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a tool which includes a structure which fits inside a pipe end of a pipe valve to prevent undesired lateral movement of the tool relative to the valve when used to rotate the valve.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a tool having a wrench drive bore at an end thereof to enable use of a ratchet wrench thereon to connect and disconnect a pipe valve to and from pipe lines.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a tool for connection and disconnection of a pipe valve to and from pipe lines which is simple in construction for inexpensive manufacture thereof.
Basically, the tool of the present invention enables rotational connection and disconnection of a pipe structure situated in very cramped working quarters. The tool of the present invention is a socket having a recess which is shaped and sized to fit around most of a pipe valve. A standard sized valve used in water piping i.e., a corporation stop valve, is approximately square at a medial portion thereof with large flat surfaces at a pair of opposing lateral portions thereof. In order to accomodate such a standard sized valve, the tool consequently is provided with two large flat surfaces at corresponding opposing lateral portions thereof to snugly fit against these valve flat surfaces. The snugly fitting flat surfaces prevent the socket from rotating over the outer surfaces of the valve and thus prevent relative rotation between the socket and the valve. Consequently, when properly fitted onto the valve, rotation of the socket effectuates rotation of the valve.
A corporation stop valve has pipe fittings at both opposing ends thereof. One of the pipe fittings is adapted for connection to the water pipe line coming from the main line while the other of the pipe fittings is adapted for connection to the water pipe line leading to the residential or commercial building. The pipe fitting for the line leading to the building is designed so that the connection utilizes a gasket between the fitting and the line. Thus, this connection does not require high torque to prevent leaks and may therefore be installed and removed by means of an ordinary adjustable wrench which therefore does not need to provide high leverage. Consequently, the socket of the present invention which affords the capability of enabling the application of high torque cannot be utilized to full advantage in connecting or disconnecting the valve to and from the building line.
But, a corporation stop valve has a pipe fitting at the other end thereof which is adapted for connection to the water main pipe line and this pipe fitting is different than the building line fitting in that it utilizes tapered pipe threads. No gasket is used between the pipe fitting on the valve and the pipe line leading to the water main. Thus, this connection must be made with high torque in order to provide a leak proof seal. Consequently, the socket of the present invention which affords the capability of enabling application of high torque can be utilized to full advantage in connecting and disconnecting the valve to and from the pipe line leading to the water main.
Since the pipe lines in the area of the corporation stop valves are commonly situated underground approximately one and one-half feet below the ground surface, a trench usually must be dug to provide access to the valve and pipe lines for connection or disconnection thereof. Such trenches are commonly made rather narrow due to the undue amount of labor required to dig a wide trench. Moreover, digging a wide trench would unreasonably disrupt or damage a relatively large area of the environment which may be a garden, front lawn, patio or the like and thus unacceptable due to the labor and expense required to restore the area to its former condition. But, high torque at this type of valve connection requires the use of a long wrench for providing high leverage. However, the narrowness of the trench and its depth severely limits rotational movements of the wrench such that its arc of rotation is very small. In addition, the best locations for connection of the jaws of the wrench are at the opposing lateral flat faces of the valve. But, this requires that the valve be rotated about one-hundred and eighty degrees in order to enable the jaws of the wrench to regrip the valve for further rotation. But, pragmatically, this cannot be accomplished using a long wrench in a narrow trench. Alternatively, using a pipe wrench to rotate the valve relative to the pipe line is likely to leave teeth marks and wear away part of the valve face or threads thereby producing unacceptable wear thereon. In addition, using a pipe wrench is unlikely to provide a sufficiently good grip on any portion of the valve other than the opposing flat surfaces. Thus, use of a pipe wrench is likely to be ineffective and just result in damage to the valve.
The socket is provided with a bore to receive a ratchet wrench drive therein. The drive bore is located at an end of the socket. The bore is also located and oriented so that it is in line with the axis of the socket. The drive bore allows a user to easily attach a ratchet wrench to the socket either before or after the socket is installed on the valve and apply the desired amount of torque thereby to rotation of the valve. The ratchet wrench also allows rotation of the valve in relatively small increments thereby allowing the wrench movements to stay within the confines of the trench. The unique socket thus facilitates connection and disconnection of the valve while preventing damage to the valve that might otherwise occur with conventional tools.
The socket of the present invention has an open box shape that allows it to be quickly and easily slipped onto the pipe valve and moved into the proper position for effectuating rotation of the valve thereby. The socket does not require any bolt or screw structures to secure the socket onto the valve so the installation of the socket is relatively quick, simple and easy. Another important feature is that the installation of the socket on the valve does not require any tools but instead can be accomplished entirely by hand. This is especially advantageous in the cramped, confined and inadequately lit quarters of a typical trench dug for access to the valve which can make the prolonged use of some tools awkward, difficult and unduly time consuming.